Prefabricated wall unit construction

ABSTRACT

Prefabricated wall units are provided for ready connection in longitudinal alignment by clips receivable over shaped side columns when positioned adjacent to each other. Each unit includes top and bottom channels defining a frame with the columns and a suitable insulating filler. Side panels are provided to complete the prefabricated construction.

United States Patent Inventor Troy L. Reeves St. George, Utah Appl. No.843,103

Filed July 18, 1969 Patented July 13, 1971 Assignee Quality ControlBuilders and Manufacturing Inc. Van Nuys, Calif.

PREFABRICATED WALL UNIT CONSTRUCTION 4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

Int. Cl E04b 2/16, E04c 2/10 Field of Search .Q 52/475, 584, 615

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,053,135 9/1936 Dalton52/615 2,114,387 4/1938 Killion 52/584 2,621,378 12/1952 Wilson 52/6153,182,771 5/1965 Root 52/475 3,239,986 3/1966 Russell 52/584 PrimaryExaminerl-lenry C. Sutherland Attorney-Elliott and Pastoriza ABSTRACT:Prefabricated wall units are provided for ready connection inlongitudinal alignment by clips receivable over shaped side columns whenpositioned adjacent to each other. Each unit includes top and bottomchannels defining a frame with the columns and a suitable insulatingfiller. Side panels are provided to complete the prefabricatedconstruction.

PATENTEDJULISIQYI 3591.999

SHEEI 1 0F 2 INVENTOR: TROY L. REEVES wall/915w ATTORN KS.

PATENTED JUL 1 3 l9?! SHEET 2 UF 2 um H FIG. 6

INVENTOIQ:

TROY L. REEVES FIG. 7

PREFABRICATEI) WALL UNIT CONSTRUCTION This invention relates generallyto building structures and more particularly to a prefabricated wallunit construction.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide prefabricatedwall units of identical construction adapted to be intercoupled to formthe wall structure of a building.

More particularly, it is an object to provide prefabricated wall unitswhich which may serve as load-bearing units or not, as desired, to theend that the wall units may comprise exterior as well as interior wallsofa building.

Another object is to provide prefabricated wall units having means forintercoupling the same in a fast and efficient manner without the needfor special tools, to the end that the resulting wall structure of abuilding may be erected in a minimum of time and expense.

Yet another object is to provide prefabricated wall units havingcomponents which are readily manufactured at a minimum of cost, with theresult that the wall units are particularly well adapted for massproduction.

Still another object is to provide prefabricated wall units which areadapted to be joined to conventional flooring and roofing structures,with the result that design and construction may be accomplished atcosts considerably less than heretofore possible.

Another object is to provide prefabricated wall units characterized byhigh strength and light weight.

Briefly, these and many other objects and advantages of this inventionare attained by providing prefabricated wall units of identical designadapted to be erected on conventional flooring structure to supportconventional roofing structure. Each wall unit of the invention isconstructed of readily manufactured components including a pair ofcolumns forming the ends of the unit and a pair of channel membersforming the top and bottom of the unit. The columns and channel membersare intercoupled to form a unitary frame structure which may be coveredon its sides by siding panels made of plywood, for example. In thepreferred embodiment, insulating material may be positioned within theframe structure between the siding panels.

The invention includes novel means by which a plurality of wall unitsmay be coupled together to form the wall structure of a building. Thenovel coupling means permit the wall units to be erected in longitudinalalignment. When arranged in longitudinal alignment to form an exteriorload-bearing wall, the wall units form a continuous bottom channel forreceiving a floor sill member, while the top portion of the wall unitsform an upwardly opening continuous channel for receiving a roofsupporting member.

An important feature of the invention relates to the identicalconstruction of each of the wall units, thereby enabling construction ofa wall structure by random selection of the wall units, accordingly,marking and indexing of the individual wall units to insure properplacement is largely eliminated.

A better understanding of the invention will now be had by referring toa preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is an exploded perspective view, illustrating the components ofan individual prefabricated wall unit in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the bracket meansforming a component in the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a clip means forming one ofthe components of the structure of FIG. I;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the component endportions looking in the direction of the arrow 4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a plurality of prefabricatedwall units connected together and partly broken away to expose interiorportions thereof;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section taken in the directionof the arrow 6-6 of FIG. 5; and,

FIG. 7 is a further fragmentary cross section taken in the directionofthe arrow 7-7 of FIG. 6.

Referring first to FIG. I, the prefabricated wall unit comprises a pairof horizontally spaced vertical columns 10 and II of identicalconstruction and a pair of vertically spaced horizontal channels 12 andI3 of identical construction. These members are arranged to be securedtogether as by means of brackets one of which is indicated at 14 todefine a rectangular frame structure.

A core of insulating material 15 is disposed within this frame structureand thereafter siding panels 16 and 17 may be adhesively secured toopposite sides of the frame structure to sandwich the core 15 therebetween.

The core 15 may constitute a plastic foam such as polyurethane and thesiding panel 16 and 17 may constitute plywood. When the various elementsdescribed are assembled, the dimensions of the panels 16 and 17correspond with the outer dimensions of the rectangular frame.

As will be evident from FIG. 1, the column members 10 and 11 are ofl-I-shape in cross section with the inwardly directed legs of the Harranged to straddle adjacent sides of the core 15 and the outwardlydirected legs thereof including L-shaped rail portions 18 and 19 for thecolumn 10 and 20 and 21 for the column 11. The columns face in oppositedirections as shown and the rail portions terminate short of the ends ofthe columns. These rail portions will be described in greater detail asthe description proceeds.

It will also be evident that the channels I2 and 13 have their open endsfacing upwardly and downwardly in opposite vertical directionsrespectively.

The assembly is completed by a plurality of clip means of generalU-shape one such clip being shown at 22. As will also become clearer asthe description proceeds, these clip means are arranged to securetogether adjacent prefabricated wall units of identical construction tothat shown in FIG. 1. To enable ready insertion of the clip means, thechannels I2 and 13 include cutout portions such as indicated at 23 and24 at their ends.

FIG. 2 illustrates in detail one of the bracket means such as thatdesignated at 14 in FIG. 1. All of the bracket means are identical inconstruction. As shown in FIG. 2, the bracket means defines right-angledsurface portions 25 and 26 strengthened in their rightangle relationshipby a web or fillet 27. These surfaces include catch projections such asindicated at 28 arranged to be received in adjacent inner corners of thecolumns and channels to secure the same in a rectangular relationship.

FIG. 3 illustrates one of the clip means such as that designated at 22in FIG. 1. All of these clip means are identical. As shown in FIG. 3,the clip means is defined by a substantially U-shaped member the legs 29and 30 thereof defining a receiving slot having a smooth taperedentrance portion 31 and toothed portion 32. In addition, the outer edgesof the legs may include rib projections such as indicated at 33 thepurpose for which will become clearer as the description proceeds.

FIG. 4 illustrates in greater detail the rail portion of the columnconstruction for the column 10 of FIG. 1. It will be noted that theL-shaped rail portions 18 and 19 are defined by portions of the outerlegs of the I-I-shape of the column turning towards each other andthence inwardly. It will also be evident that these rail portionsterminate short of the upper and lower ends of the columns.

In FIG. 5 the prefabricated wall unit of FIG. 1 is shown in assembledposition with the upper channel 12 thereof straddling a roof supportingstructure or ceiling sill 34 which usually takes the form of anelongated wooden beam. The lower channel 13 in turn is shown straddlinga conventional floor sill 35. A further prefabricated wall unitdesignated by the arrow 36 is shown in alignment with the firstmentioned unit and additional wall units a fragmentary portion of onebeing shown at 37 may be secured to the wall unit 36 to define a seriesof wall units so that a wall of any desired continuous length may beformed. In this respect, the ceiling sill 34 and floor sill 35 will becommon to the wall units and extend continuously through the alignedupper and lower channels respectively of the wall units.

In the fragmentary cross section of FIG. 45, the rail portions 18 and 19of the column I are shown abutting corresponding rail portions in thenext adjacent wall unit 36. A clip such as the clip 22 is shown inposition straddling the adjacent L shaped rail portion. A similar clipwould be provided about the rail portion 19 and corresponding abuttingrail portion of the wall unit 36.

In FIG. 6 the surface portion 25 of the bracket 114i described in FIG. 2is shown with its catch portions secured within the cross portion of theH-shape of the channel.

In FIG. 7 the remaining right-angled surface 26 of the bracket 14! inturn is shown secured to the underside of the upper channel 112 with thecatch portions 28 received therein to lock the channel in right angledrelationship to the column. The disposition of the clip 22 will also beclear from FIG. 7 wherein it will be noted that the projecting ribs suchas the rib 33 results in a force fit of each of the legs of the clipbetween the L-shape rail portions and the cross portion of the Hstructure of the column. The straddling of the L-shaped rails such asthe rail portion 118 and adjacent corresponding portion of the next wallunit will also be clear from FIG. 7.

OPERATION The prefabricated wall units are assembled in a factory, thebasic components thereof being as described in FIG. ll. In this respect,the columns and channels are secured together by the brackets such asillustrated in FIG. 2 to define the rectangular frame structure. Thesiding panels 16 and 17 may then be secured to opposite sides of theresulting frame and thereafter the insulating core disposed within theenclosed rectangular structure. This may be accomplished by a simpleplastic foaming operation, the core being foamed in place.

The various clip members such as 22 may be provided separately or may betemporarily secured with one leg between the L-shsped rail portions andthe cross portion of the Hs merely as a convenience.

Several such prefabricated wall units all of identical construction areprovided at the factory and shipped to a building site.

There is no need to index or otherwise identify the various panels sinceall are identical. Moreover, since the opposite columns 10 and 111 areidentical in construction and the top and bottom channels 12 and 113 areidentical in construction, the top as illustrated in FIG. ll could serveas the bottom and the bottom could serve as the top. In other words,there is no particular orientation except that the column members shouldbe vertical and the channel members horizontal.

At a building site, the prefabricated wall units may be utilized to formeither an outside wall or an interior wall. In either event, thestructure is extremely strong and can serve as a load-bearing structurein the building.

As described heretofore, the various prefabricated wall units may bepositioned in side by side longitudinal relationship to define acontinuous wall of given length. At this point, the clip members iftemporarily secured to the Ill-shaped channels are removed so that thewall units may be positioned next to each other in flush endrelationship as illustrated in FIG. 6. The various clips are thensecured over the engaging L-shape portions of the respective wall unitsas described in FIGS. 6 and 7. It should be noted that there are fourclips for each joint between adjacent wall units. Two of these clips arepositioned over the upper rail portion ends and two over the bottom railportion ends.

When an assembly of panels has been connected together as described, thesame may be positioned over a continuous floor sill such as 35 shown inFIG. 5 and thereafter a roofing member or ceiling sill 3d positioned inthe upper channel 12. Nails may be driven through the sides of therespective channels to these wooden members to secure the completedcontinuous wall structure in place.

The clips themselves may be positioned by simply hammering the same overthe engaging portions of the L-shaped rails forcing them into position.Thus no s ecial tools other than conventional tools are required and t eassembly may take place very rapidly.

A further feature of this invention resides in the fact that theprefabricated wall units may be utilized with conventional floor sillsnormally provided in building constructions so that no alteration ofnormal building frame portions are necessary.

Because of the bracket structure in cooperation with the columns andchannel members, and because of the plastic foam insulation material, anextremely strong and yet light and easily transportable prefabricatedwall unit results. As mentioned, the wall units may thus serve asload-bearing units for exterior walls or as load-bearing units ininterior portions of a building.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that this inventionprovides a simplified and efficient construction means whereby the wallstructure of a building may be erected at a minimum of time and expense.The identity of each of the prefabricated wall units constructed asdescribed enables the erection of a continuous wall by random selectionof the wall units and yet enables this construction to take place withconventional floor and roofing structural members.

It will thus be evident that all of the various objects set forthheretofore are fully realized by the invention as described.

What I claim is:

l. A prefabricated wall unit construction comprising: a pair ofhorizontally spaced vertical columns of identical construction and apair of vertically spaced horizontal channels of identical construction;bracket means connecting the end portions of said columns and channelsto define a rectangular frame with the columns facing in oppositehorizontal directions and the channels having their open ends facingupwardly and downwardly in opposite vertical directions; a rectangularcore member of insulating material disposed in said frame; and a pair ofrectangular siding panels of dimensions corresponding to the outsidedimensions of said rectangular frame secured on opposite sides of saidframe, said columns each including parallel rail portions of L-shapedcross section running vertically along a major portion of the exposedend edges of said columns; and clip means for straddling the L-shapedrail portions of one column with the L- shaped rail portions of anadjacent prefabricated wall unit identical in construction to said firstmentioned prefabricated wall unit whereby a plurality of suchprefabricated wall units may be aligned and secured by said clip meansin series with their lower channels received over a common buildingfloor sill and their upper channels received over a common ceiling sillto provide a continuous wall structure of any desired length.

2. The subject matter of claim l, in which said column members areI-I-shaped in cross section, the inwardly directed legs thereofstraddling the adjacent side of said core and the outwardly directedlegs thereof turning towards each other and thence inwardly to definesaid L-shaped cross section of said rail portions, said rail portionsterminating short of the upper and lower ends of said columns, and saidchannels including cutouts at opposite ends to provide access forinserting said clip means over the ends of said rail portions.

3. The subject matter of claim 2, in which said clip means comprisesubstantially U-shaped members having an open ended toothed slot definedbetween the legs of the U for straddling adjacent L-shaped rail portionsof aligned wall units, the outer edges of said legs including projectingribs to provide a force fit of each leg of the clip means between thecorresponding L-shaped rail andcross portion of the H-shape.

41. The subject matter of claim 2, in which said bracket means eachcomprise a member defining right-angle surface portions havingprojecting catches receivable in the inner right angle corners definedbetween the adjacent ends of the columns and channels.

1. A prefabricated wall unit construction comprising: a pair ofhorizontally spaced vertical columns of identical construction and apair of vertically spaced horizontal channels of identical construction;bracket means connecting the end portions of said columns and channelsto define a rectangular frame with the columns facing in oppositehorizontal directions and the channels having their open ends facingupwardly and downwardly in opposite vertical directions; a rectangularcore member of insulating material disposed in said frame; and a pair ofrectangular siding panels of dimensions corresponding to the outsidedimensions of said rectangular frame secured on opposite sides of saidframe, said columns each including parallel rail portions of L-shapedcross section running vertically along a major portion of the exposedend edges of said columns; and clip means for straddling the L-shapedrail portions of one column with the L-shaped rail portions of anadjacent prefabricated wall unit identical in construction to said firstmentioned prefabricated wall unit whereby a plurality of suchprefabricated wall units may be aligned and secured by said clip meansin series with their lower channels received over a common buildingfloor sill and their upper channels received over a common ceiling sillto proviDe a continuous wall structure of any desired length.
 2. Thesubject matter of claim 1, in which said column members are H-shaped incross section, the inwardly directed legs thereof straddling theadjacent side of said core and the outwardly directed legs thereofturning towards each other and thence inwardly to define said L-shapedcross section of said rail portions, said rail portions terminatingshort of the upper and lower ends of said columns, and said channelsincluding cutouts at opposite ends to provide access for inserting saidclip means over the ends of said rail portions.
 3. The subject matter ofclaim 2, in which said clip means comprise substantially U-shapedmembers having an open ended toothed slot defined between the legs ofthe U for straddling adjacent L-shaped rail portions of aligned wallunits, the outer edges of said legs including projecting ribs to providea force fit of each leg of the clip means between the correspondingL-shaped rail and cross portion of the H-shape.
 4. The subject matter ofclaim 2, in which said bracket means each comprise a member definingright-angle surface portions having projecting catches receivable in theinner right angle corners defined between the adjacent ends of thecolumns and channels.